


He Gotta Go Check On Her

by BurntKloverfield



Series: Rey's Sick Day [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Caretaking, F/M, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Pre-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Rey (Star Wars) is Nobody, Rey is Not a Palpatine, Rey is still sick, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:36:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22605607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurntKloverfield/pseuds/BurntKloverfield
Summary: Rey was sick, and the Force connected them. Ben couldn't stand the thought of her being sick all on her own. He travels across the Galaxy to care for her.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Rey's Sick Day [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1626589
Comments: 30
Kudos: 160





	He Gotta Go Check On Her

**Author's Note:**

  * For [averypottermarcholasmoth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/averypottermarcholasmoth/gifts).



> averypottermormon left a comment on Rey has a cold simply saying "he gotta go and check on her he gOTTA GO CHECK ON HER" and I got inspired. Thank you!

Ben couldn't focus. His mind was consumed with thoughts of Rey. She was sick somewhere out there in the Galaxy on the Millennium Falcon. She was miserable. Her body was unsuited to this illness, he knew that much. After their Force Bond had closed, her absence from his arms had been far too prominent. He just wanted her back in his arms. He wanted her to feel better. He wanted her to know how much he cared for her. He needed to know that she was getting better and help if he could.

"I need to check on her," he whispered to himself, staring blankly at the datapad he had tried to busy himself with.

But where was she? The Millennium Falcon was a ship. She could be anywhere and moving constantly.

He was then marching through his ship towards the bridge where General Hux surveyed the day to day minutiae of running the First Order.

"General Hux," Ben barked. "I need the last known location of the Millennium Falcon."

Hux glared at him but nodded. "Right away, sir." He gestured to the officer at a console who was already typing away.

"Outer Rim territories, sir," the officer reported. "Though exact locations were jumbled after a hyperspeed jump."

Ben let a plan form, and he left the bridge without another word.

* * *

Ben was in the middle of a medbay examining various medications and bacta treatments when the Force Bond clicked into place again. He had been poking and prodding the Force to try to initiate the bond for several hours, and it finally decided to connect. He heard Rey's rattling breathing first, followed by the much softer regular breathing of Chewbacca. He turned to find that she was in Chewie's arms, sitting sideways like a small child wrapped in a blanket. She was unconscious, but as she was touching him, Chewbacca could see Ben materialize through the bond.

"How is she?" Ben asked.

Chewbacca told him how Rey hadn't been able to sleep once he left and how her breathing had gotten more shallow and ragged and how she couldn't sleep laying down.

"She needs medical care."

Chewie growled at him.

"I know you're doing your best, Chewie," Ben insisted. "I'm not saying you're not. I'm saying that she needs more. She's gotten worse since I saw her last. When was the last time you took her temperature?"

Chewie scoffed.

"She's from Jakku. They don't have illnesses like whatever she's been exposed to since she's been gallivanting through the Galaxy." He stepped forward. "Will you tell me where you are so I can help her?" He shook his head. "No, you wouldn't. Where can we meet? It will just be me. We can rendezvous, and I can bring medicine."

Chewie cocked his head but nodded. He gave Ben the coordinates to a sparsely populated moon. He paused as Ben input the coordinates into his datapad, but then he offered Rey to him.

Ben's heart leapt in his chest, and he nodded, offering his arms. Chewie easily set Rey in his arms, and Ben cradled her close. This time, he made sure her head rested against his shoulder, and he placed a gentle kiss against her forehead. "She's burning up."

He looked up, but once he transferred her to his arms, Chewbacca disappeared from Ben's vision. Ben sat himself on the medcot in his environment, which lined up with Rey's bunk in hers. He took the opportunity to examine her and to take stock of how she was doing. Her forehead was hot, but her skin was dry. Dehydrated, he noted. Parched lips and pale skin. Her hair certainly hadn't been washed since the last time he saw her. Her rattling lungs were what worried him most. Her breathing was shallow as her body tried to let her rest for the moment. He remembered holding her before, and any deep breath had caused a coughing fit. He mentally noted each symptom so he could bring the proper medicine.

His heart hurt for her. She shouldn't have to deal with this.

* * *

Ben piloted his personal Tie Whisper into the moon's atmosphere. It was a place that was warm and full of green. He took note that there were no signs of a Resistance Base. There were no signs of any settlements. The Millennium Falcon had set down in a small clearing, nestled up against trees and overgrowth. The ramp was down, and the moment his ship was in sight, Chewbacca was coming down to meet him. His fur was blown back from the engines, and Ben couldn't help but feel like he was coming home with his Uncle Chewie waiting for him to go off on some grand adventure, and his mind wondered if his father was just inside. His soul ached, and Ben chided himself for the thought. He wasn't there for a homecoming. He was there for Rey. He needed to make sure that she recovered from her illness, and he needed to make sure she wasn't in pain, and he needed to make sure that she would never be so miserable again.

Ben hopped down from the cockpit, making sure not to spill the contents of a box filled with medicine and food he had procured.

Chewbacca gave a roar in greeting and then dissolved into a few quiet whines.

"I'm not here to kill you, Chewbacca," Ben said, confused.

Chewbacca whined again.

"Who insisted on coming?"

'Your mother.'

Ben froze at the base of the ramp. A million thoughts ran through his head all at once. He couldn't come back. She hated him. He had intended on killing her but couldn't fire the shot. He thought he had killed her, at least until he felt her through the Force on Crait. And she had insisted on coming with Rey. Had she come to see him, or had she come to protect Rey? He realized he was holding his breath, and he let himself breathe in the forest air through his nose.

"Is there anyone else?"

Chewie shook his head. He waved for him to come inside. Chewie took the box away from him and made his way up the ramp.

Ben slowly ascended, feeling his heart constrict in his chest at the familiarity. He hadn't thought any of this through when he was making his plans. He had only thought of Rey. He had planned on nursing her back to health and spending time with her until she was well enough to take off and travel the Galaxy with him off somewhere just the two of them. His mother infinitely complicated everything. The fact that this was all happening on the Falcon which was one of his childhood homes complicated everything. Chewbacca being the kind caring uncle he remembered complicated everything.

He turned the corner and stopped at the sight of his mother sitting at the bench around the dejarik table, leaning heavily on her cane, staring up at him with the saddest eyes he had ever seen her give him.

"She's asleep," Leia told him. "She was incredibly excited when Chewie told her that he was taking her to you."

"And you came, too."

"A chance to see my son. A chance to bring him home."

Ben cast his eyes away from her. "I'm not here for you. I'm here for Rey."

"Go on. I'll be here."

He headed towards the bunk, not looking back at his mother.

He put his hand on the panel, the door slid open, and Chewbacca greeted him, already setting down what Ben had brought.

"Ben?" Rey's hoarse voice greeted. It was hardly a sound caught on her breath. She was sitting up in her bunk, holding the blanket tight around her shoulders.

Ben stopped, unsure of what to do. He was here. Physically here with Rey. The last time they had been in the same space was in the throne room. He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to sweep her into his arms. He wanted to feed her the soup he had brought. He wanted to care for her. He wanted to see her perk up. But he was unsure of where they really stood right then. Were they friends? Confidants? Lovers? Or were they still enemies on opposite sides of a war who just happened to comfort each other through a mysterious Force Bond?

Chewbacca left the room, and the moment the door slid shut behind him, Rey tried to speak. "I'd like lovers," her hoarse voice revealed, having been listening in to his thoughts. "We're confidants," she rasped. "But I'd like lovers."

Ben felt his bottom lip tremble. He came to her and tentatively reached out his hand. She put her cheek in his palm and leaned into his touch.

"You came to see me."

"I came to help you." He ran his thumb over her cheek bone. "I had to check on you. I had to make sure you were okay." He slowly pulled away so that he could rummage in the box he brought.

"You didn't have to. I'm doing okay."

"No, you're not. You're ill." He pulled a new blanket from the box and turned so he was kneeling before her. He tugged her thin blanket away, and she shivered at the slight breeze of recycled air. She was still wearing the same clothing he had seen her in when they had cuddled through their bond. He brought the new clean blanket around her, and her eyes went wide at the texture. "Soft enough?" he asked.

She nodded and pulled it tight around her.

"Can you eat?"

She grew teary eyed.

"Your throat hurts too much," he nodded, retrieving the container of soup he had brought. "This shouldn't bother it as much as ration bars do. Soup. I know you're not drinking enough." He pressed his hand to her forehead. "You really are burning up. I don't know how they let you get so bad for so long."

She was about to protest, but it turned into a coughing fit. Ben set the container down and sat beside her on the cot to bring her tight into her arms. He rubbed her back, and he reveled in the feeling of having her in his arms for real.

"I'm so sorry that you feel like this, but I'm grateful for this opportunity to be with you."

She nodded against his chest, breathing shallowly.

"I brought medicine."

She nodded again, and he retrieved the bottle of pills, shaking out a few for her. He waved his hand for her water canister and frowned when he found that it was empty.

"You need to be drinking water," he scolded. He stood, leaving a kiss on her forehead.

He made his way through the ship to the galley. He was immeasurably grateful that he didn't have to pass through the common area to get to it. On his way out though, Chewbacca was coming his way.

"She hasn't been drinking enough," Ben scolded, holding out the canteen.

Chewie scoffed, telling him he was doing his best.

Ben paused when Chewie disappeared into the galley that the statement was absolutely true. Chewbacca had a soft heart and was sure to watch out for those found in his care. Of course he was doing his best. Ben continued back to Rey, thinking about how he was glad that Chewie was keeping an eye out for her.

When he reentered Rey's bunk, a few of the wayward porgs followed him inside. He frowned at them and tried to nudge them back out into the hall with his boot. The bird squawked at him and barreled its way inside. Its friends waddled around Ben. He sighed and made sure not to catch one in the door as it closed.

"What are those things?" he asked.

"Porgs!" Rey squeaked, already cuddling one close. The others had hopped up on her bed and were snuggling up against her thighs. "They were all over Ach-to."

"Ach-to?"

Rey looked up at him. "Where I was...where Luke was. The island."

Ben's mouth opened and then closed as he swallowed, remembering when they had touched for the first time through the Force Bond. "So that's where you were." He looked down at a porg that was nuzzling his boot. He offered her the canister, and she obliged, swallowing the medicine. He made sure that the soup wasn't bothered by the birds coming to check on Rey, and then he offered it to her. "Please eat. You need your energy."

She smiled at him and obeyed yet again. He could tell she was happy through the Force, but he found that he couldn't focus on her. Thoughts about where he had been and what he would do next wandered through his mind.

"Will you stay with me?" Rey yawned.

He nodded. "You can go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

She shook her head. "No. Will you stay with me?"

He turned to search her face. It was still pale, and her eyes were tired, but her cheeks were flushing from the warmth of the blanket and the soup and the closeness of him.

"You came to see me, to make sure I was okay, with no thought of the First Order and what they would do without you and with no thought of the Resistance and what they would do to you if they caught you. You came to me."

She reached out to lay her hand over his resting on his thigh.

"I won't return to the Resistance if I get to be with you, if you don't return to the First Order."

His heart sang, and he nearly let 'yes' tumble over his lips. Instead, he leaned in to kiss her.

She fell into his kiss, already feeling the heat in her cheeks burn hotter. She was the one to pull away. "Don't do that. You'll get sick, too."

"It will be worth it if I get to spend forever with you."

Rey leaned against him. "I don't know how to take care of someone who's sick." She looked up at him. "But your mother wouldn't mind."

He grimaced.

"Did you speak to her?"

He shook his head. "I came for you."

She smiled and leaned back into his embrace. "She misses you, and would be happy for this choice you made. She likes me."

Ben chuckled at that. "Of course she does."

"Do you like me?"

"I think you need to sleep. The medicine is getting to your head." He stood from the bunk, but she caught his arm.

"No, do you like me?"

He set a hand on both sides of her legs on the bed. "Rey, I crossed the Galaxy to check on you and bring you medicine and soup and a blanket. I'm leaving the First Order to stay with you. I think you could say I like you."

The blush spread over Rey's cheeks more. "I think you do more than like me."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you." He set a hand on her feverish forehead. "Now go to sleep. I'm going to talk to my mother."

Her eyes lit up, and she nodded. He waited until she laid back on the bunk, wrapping herself tighter in the blanket, and he turned down the lights and waited for the porgs to decide they wanted to follow Ben out into the hall.

He made his way out to the common area where his mother had busied herself with a data pad. She looked up at him hopefully.

"I'm not going back to the First Order," he announced.

The confusion and joy and love and shock that crossed Leia's face was a pleasure to watch.

He continued before she had a choice to say anything. "I'm not joining the Resistance." He took a seat on the other side of the dejarik table.

"What are you planning?" Leia asked.

"Taking care of Rey, outside of both organizations, outside of any organization."

She nodded with an approving smile.

He waited for her to say something, anything, but she waited for him to speak.

It took him far too long. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "about Dad."

Leia reached across the dejarik table to set her hand over his. "It's because of Snoke."

"I killed Snoke."

"You told the First Order and the Galaxy that Rey killed Snoke."

"I killed him for her."

"You did." She patted his hand. "I'm sorry, too, for sending you away when you needed me, for not being the parent you needed."

He stared at her hand. "I never thought I could come home to you, after everything, after who I became."

"You could always come home."

Tears pooled in Ben's eyes.

"And the last thing I asked of your father was to bring you home. He did."

The tears came at last. Leia stood and came around the table to take him in her arms.

"Where ever you and Rey travel in the Galaxy, you can always come home."

**Author's Note:**

> Looking for more? Check out my [profile](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurntKloverfield/profile) or my [Reylo Ficlets.](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/ReyloFiclets)


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